Reinstatement of a Waste Levy in Queensland welcomed by peak environment body

MEDIA RELEASE March 20, 2018: Peak environment group the Queensland Conservation Council (QCC) has welcomed statements from the Palaszczuk government that it will reinstate a Waste Levy in Queensland. The state had previously had a levy on waste, but this was removed by the Newman LNP government in 2012.

Recent media coverage, including a major ABC 4Corners investigation, has revealed the extent of waste dumping in Queensland from interstate sources, with the absence of a levy on waste being identified as a key part of the problem.

During the 2017 Queensland election, QCC released a comprehensive list of conservation priorities for the state, which included a call for the reinstatement of a Waste Levy, as a step towards a Zero Waste Queensland strategy.

“We welcome news that Queensland will restore a Waste Levy”, said Queensland Conservation Council head Dr Tim Seelig.

“Queensland needs to deal with the current situation of massive over-the-border-sourced rubbish dumping in the state. A Waste Levy will be an important measure to remove the driver of such waste disposal.

“Queensland also needs to consider how to reduce waste within the state, and how we can create incentives to decrease the volume of land-fill waste, and increase the amount of recycling and re-using of unwanted materials.

“QCC hopes the new Waste Levy will apply greater financial signals than previously applied to actually reduce waste as the first option, and then charge fees that better reflect the costs of waste as the fall-back option.

“We also recognise that the Waste Levy will sit in a context of other waste-related policies, such as the forthcoming container deposit scheme, ban on single-use plastic bags, and the further rollout of recycling facilities and services.

“We look forward to Queensland establishing a formal structured pathway to a Zero Waste Strategy for the state, as a means of being more aware of household, commercial, industrial and other waste, and being more efficient with existing resources and products.”